Daily Content Archive
(as of Friday, July 31, 2020)| Word of the Day | |||||||
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circumnavigate
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| Daily Grammar Lesson | |
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Demonstrative Adjectives vs. Demonstrative PronounsDemonstrative adjectives are often confused with demonstrative pronouns, because "this," "that," "these," and "those" can serve both functions. If you think about the role of an adjective and the role of a pronoun, though, you'll see that they're not so confusing after all. Why? More... | |
| Article of the Day | |
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 The BlowgunA blowgun is a hollow tube out of which a dart or an arrow is blown. The projectile is usually tipped with a poison, like curare, to stun or kill prey. Usually used for hunting and rarely in warfare, blowguns vary in length from 18 in (45 cm) to over 23 ft (7 m) and are often crafted from cane or bamboo. The arrows, made to fit snugly in the gun’s tube, are fashioned from palm leaf midribs or bamboo splinters. Blowguns were widely used by prehistoric peoples and are still used in what locations? More... | |
| This Day in History | |
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 Pulp Fiction Hero "The Shadow" Debuts on the Radio (1930)The fictional, crime-fighting vigilante known as The Shadow originally debuted as the announcer of Detective Story Hour, a radio program that was quickly eclipsed by the popularity of its own narrator. The following year The Shadow got his own magazine and became one of pulp fiction's most enduring heroes, entering film and television. The radio show was re-named The Shadow and ran for more than 25 years. What comic book hero refers to The Shadow as his "biggest inspiration"? More... | |
| Today's Birthday | |
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 Milton Friedman (1912)Friedman was an American economist and a leading US advocate of monetarism, the belief that a nation's money supply is the chief determinant of its economy. He wrote numerous books and was a frequent television commentator and magazine columnist, which made him one of the most publicly familiar US economists. Friedman served as an adviser to US presidents Richard Nixon and Ronald Reagan. To what South American country did he provide economic advice following a military coup? More... | |
| Quotation of the Day | |
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 As to the sufferers, whose sole inheritance was labor, and who had lost that inheritance; who could not get work, and consequently could not get wages, and consequently could not get bread; they were left to suffer on, perhaps inevitably left.Charlotte Bronte (1816-1855) | |
| Idiom of the Day | |
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hustle (one's) bustle— To increase one's pace or sense of urgency; to hurry up; to get moving quickly. More... | |
| Today's Holiday | |
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 Jamaica Festival (2020)Originally called the Independence Festival of Jamaica because it ended on Jamaica's Independence Day, the Jamaica Festival emphasizes the cultural roots, conservation, and revival of traditional art forms by ethnic groups—particularly music, dance, and games of African origin—as well as nurturing contemporary arts. Competitions determine who will perform each year, the categories of which include fine art, photo, and culinary exhibits, music, dance, plays, and literary readings. The festival has been held in Kingston, Montego Bay, and elsewhere on the island since 1963. More... | |
| Word Trivia | |
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Today's topic: huskbeer nut - A peanut served with its husk but not its shell. More... brown sugar, brown rice - Brown sugar is unrefined or partially refined; brown rice is unpolished with only the husk removed. More... husk - A shortening of Dutch huisken, "little house." More... paddy - As in "field," it is from a Malay word meaning "rice in the straw or husk" (making rice paddy redundant). More... | |